The Louisiana Republican, who boasted of his deep ties to red-state GOP lawmakers in his recent bid to become majority whip, received a very public drubbing on his first day in the No. 3 slot when his colleagues abandoned leadership’s plans to pass a border security bill.

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With their eyes fixed on August recess, GOP leaders were forced to pull the bill Thursday afternoon after rank-and-file lawmakers flipped from “yes” votes to “no” votes, as the chamber descended into chaos just hours before a monthlong recess was supposed to kick off.

The meltdown unfolded just hours after Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) gave his last floor speech as majority leader, ushering in an era of new leadership that pledged to be more efficient. But reality quickly set in that, new leadership aside, conservatives continue to hold enough clout to upend the House agenda — just as they have since Republicans took power in 2011.

Thursday’s setback, however, could be fleeting. Scalise will have an unusually quick chance for redemption because the House is sticking around Friday to try to chart a path forward. Scalise and Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), chief deputy majority whip, were huddling with members Thursday evening to try to pick up votes. Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) — who has taken a tough line during the internal Republican negotiations over the border security package — and Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) were helping the whip operation. GOP sources are hopeful small changes to the legislation could garner enough backing to pass it.

Leadership is privately ruling out any drastic changes to the legislation.

To turn a potential loss into a victory, Scalise, Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy are going to have to pick up a lot of votes in a short period of time — it’s not clear they will be able to do it. GOP sources said they would need to close a double-digit gap in order to pass the bill. Democrats are unlikely to support anything unless there are enough Republican votes required to pass a bill.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way with Scalise at the leadership table. GOP lawmakers and aides — including Scalise — were very confident on Wednesday that they could pass the bill. Scalise even predicted victory in the media.

But less than 24 hours later, lawmakers from Alabama and Mississippi — two bastions of the Old South — peeled away from the bill, said multiple GOP lawmakers and aides. Some conservatives claimed that the legislation didn’t go far enough in preventing illegal immigration or barring President Barack Obama from giving “amnesty” to undocumented immigrants already in the country. The leadership’s whip count deteriorated as the vote loomed closer, and Republican leaders were forced into a humiliating retreat.

After pulling the bill, Boehner was swarmed on the floor by fellow Republicans who supported it and said they wanted another chance to pass something — anything — before leaving town. Several Republicans directly asked Boehner and McCarthy to gather Republicans for a closed conference meeting in the Capitol.